


Green Eyed Party Animal

by DaisyChainz



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, M/M, Post-Break Up, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-04 10:02:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20469206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyChainz/pseuds/DaisyChainz
Summary: Hux got his heart broken, and Kylo's gonna make sure he gets some satisfaction.





	Green Eyed Party Animal

Hux slumped in his seat as the bass assaulted his ears. He couldn't even understand the lyrics, and was certain he didn't want to. 

"Stop pouting." Phasma sat on a tall chair next to his. "At least you didn't have to pay a cover for both of us."

Hux glared at her. "I don't know why I'm paying at all. This charade was your idea."

Phasma smirked and looked around. "Because you're a gentleman, and you know this is a great idea. Now," she turned her steely eyes back in Hux. "Go spend some of that money I saved you on a drink. You know how I like mine."

Hux sat sulkily for a moment, just to make a point. Then he slid out of his seat and went to the bar. 

He had to make his way through the crowd and up onto the dais where the bar was. He had no idea how no one had ever fallen down the stairs, drunk, and sued the bar. They were either incredibly lucky or had excellent lawyers. 

Lawyers. Like Charles. His boyfriend. 

Ex-boyfriend, he reminded himself angrily. Charles dumped you, remember? Of course you remember. He had the audacity to take you for a night out on the town, wine you and dine and . . .

Hux stomped angrily up the steps. Unfortunately, there were only three, so it was terribly unsatisfying. He made his way to the bar, found a space to wedge himself into, and flagged down a bartender. 

She was barely tall enough to reach over the bar, there was a rail or ledge she kept stepping up onto. She smiled at him. "What can I get you?"

Some peace and quiet, a less meddlesome best friend, a boyfriend that wasn't a . . . Hux bit his lip. After a soothing breath he ordered Phasma's martini with extra olives and an old fashioned for himself. 

The bartender passed the drinks over the bar. "Wanna start a tab?" Sighing, Hux nodded and handed over his credit card over. 

He made his way back to the table with the drinks, trying not to get jostled and spilled on. Finally back at the table he collapsed onto his chair. 

"I have no idea what you're hoping to accomplish this evening."

"I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Phasma waved and Hux turned to look towards the entrance. "There are my friends. Do try not to drag everyone down please."

"You're such a pearl among friends, Phasma." They exchanged dry glances and then her friends arrived at the table. 

There were three of them. One didn't even look old enough to get into the club; Phasma introduced him as Thanisson. Hux had met Mitaka, briefly, before. He seemed as nervous as ever. They both seemed a bit out of place. Hux briefly wondered if they were a couple or just co-workers. Finally, Phasma introduced Kylo. 

Hux couldn't help but be momentarily distracted from everything as Kylo leaned forward to shake his hand. It was huge, completely enveloping Hux's own. When he smiled his eyes crinkled at the edges, irises too dark in the low light to tell the color. 

"Nice to meet you, Hux." 

Even in the too-loud atmosphere his voice was pleasing, deep and rumbling. Hux could feel his remark better than he could hear it. "Likewise." He managed. 

Then he remembered why he was there and his mood crumbled. Charles was such an asshole. 

Hux sat stewing while the others got drinks, then sat talking. Apparently Kylo worked for the same company they all did, First Order, but in a different division. That explained why Hux had never met him; it was a huge organization. It quickly became clear that Thanisson and Mitaka were indeed a couple. They kept holding hands and smiling at each other. 

Hux simultaneously wanted to smile, weep and throw up.

Finally Phasma went to chat up some attractive women she had been making eyes at, and Thanisson and Mitaka headed for the dance floor. 

Kylo turned his head towards Hux, then slid into the chair directly across from him. "Did you want to dance?"

Caught slightly off guard Hux didn't respond for a beat. It hadn't occurred to him Phasma might have set him up. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it; it should have been the first thing he suspected when she told him they were going out.

"Look Kylo, I don't know what Phasma has told you about me, but I am definitely not here to get picked up."

Kylo sat back and held up both hands. Hux blinked at them. They were absolutely huge, with long graceful fingers. Like a pianists. "Phasma didn't say anything about you. I just tagged along with the love birds because they said they were going out to meet friends. Figured I wouldn't be a third wheel that way." He crossed his arms and Hux's eyes were drawn to his broad chest. Hux swallowed and met his eyes. 

"My apologies. I just assumed this was all part of Phasma's plan."

"Ah. Does Phasma often surprise you with blind dates?"

"Only since she set me up with my boyfriend."

"Ah."

Maybe it was in Hux's head, but Kylo might have seemed the tiniest bit disappointed. Hux should have kept his mouth shut at that point. It was the perfect way to keep Kylo at bay if he believed Hux to be attached. He didn't know what made him open his mouth again. 

"Ex-boyfriend, actually."

"Ah." Kylo said again, but be leaned forward. "Recent?"

"Very."

"Messy?"

"Aren't they all?"

"True. So I guess Phasma's dragged you out to cheer you up?"

"It's more likely she did it for her own entertainment. But yes."

Kylo grinned. "I hear she's a bit cutthroat at work. Guess she's the same in her personal life?"

"You would guess correctly."

"Look, I'm not gonna try and pick you up. I've had a broken heart before, let me at least buy you a drink. Maybe we can commiserate. Beats trying to act like nothing's wrong on the dancefloor."

Hux eyed the bodies currently doing just that. "If I got on the dancefloor something would be wrong. Thank you, but I'm running a tab."

"So am I. Just one, then you can buy your own drinks the rest of the night."

Hux chewed his lips, Kylo was looking very frankly at him, expression sincere in the rotating lights. "Very well." He tipped his glass at him. "I'll take another old fashioned."

Kylo returned a few minutes later with two drinks, Hux's old fashioned and some blue concoction for himself. His first drink had been something with very colorful layers. They both looked disgustingly sweet. Hux sipped his drink. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. So, how do you know Phasma?"

"We used to work together directly, when I was a supervisor. But a few years ago I got moved over to engineering. She eventually took over the HR department."

"Yeah, that's how I know her."

Hux raised an eyebrow. "Spend a lot of time up there?"

Kylo licked his lips and stared down into his drink. Hux was a little embarrassed that he had even asked. So gauche. But he desperately wanted the distraction of someone else's misery. 

"Ah, let's say every once in a while my temper gets the better of me. I may have needed a little, um, reconditioning to adhere to company policies?"

Something clicked in Hux's brain. "Wait, it wasn't a fist fight was it?"

Kylo looked appalled. "I punched the guy one time, One time! Jesus, I can't believe you heard about that . . ." He covered his face with one massive hand. 

"I would very much like to shake your hand." Hux reached out.

Kylo slowly looked between his fingers, blinking in disbelief at his outstretched hand. "What?"

Hux rolled his fingers. "I wish to shake your hand."

"But why?"

"Because Brooks was a personal nemesis of mine. He went out of his way to humiliate me and take credit for my ideas. The day I heard he got his comeuppance was one of the best days of my professional life."

"Um, ok." Kylo slowly reached out and took Hux's in his own. Hux couldn't even see his own hand anymore. He shook it vigorously. 

Finally Kylo smiled as he slid his hand back. "Well, I'm sure Phasma wouldn't want you to encourage me on that but I guess, you're welcome?"

Hux nodded. 

"I broke his computer, too." Kylo added. 

"Yes, but that was a shameful waste of company property."

Kylo actually laughed. "Ok, Phasma would approve of that."

"Phasma introduced me to my ex. So perhaps this evening is a little reparation on her part. Otherwise I'm certain she would have set me up with someone, if not you."

"Was the break up unexpected?"

Hux swallowed and Kylo quickly added, "you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"No, I will. It was very unexpected. Charles took me out on a fantastic date. We went to the theater, then to a five star restaurant. He was being so attentive, so flattering and sincere. So when he said he needed to talk to me about something important . . ." Hux took a gulp of his drink. 

"Jesus. You thought he was going to propose, didn't you?"

Hux nodded and finished his drink. 

"But instead he broke things off?"

Hux nodded again. 

"Did he say why?"

Hux nodded and tried to take another drink from his now empty glass. 

"Jesus." Kylo repeated. "Was there someone else?"

"Yes." Hux finally found his voice again. "I'm such an idiot." He slumped forward over his drink, all the feelings he had been trying to repress washing over him. 

"No." Said Kylo firmly. "Clearly this, Charles? He's the idiot. And the way he handled it. The whole night on the town was obviously to make himself feel less guilty. And then he was going to break up with you in public? What a complete dick!"

Hux looked at him, suddenly feeling like there was finally someone on his side. All his friends, Phasma included, had made the proper sympathetic sounds. Poor Hux. But none of them had been as incensed as Kylo. And no one had noticed that Charles was setting him up to be publicly humiliated. 

"Yes!" He couldn't help but saying a little too loudly. "I think he was hoping I wouldn't cause a scene if he did it in public."

"That asshole. He was hoping you would look like the bad guy if things didn't go well."

"Exactly! I can't believe I thought he wanted to marry me. He's terrible."

"Did you want to marry him?"

"No! Well, I mean. When it dawned on me that he was going to ask, I admit I got caught up in the moment, the excitement. And I'm sure I would have said yes. But," Hux slid his empty glass away. "It had never occurred to me that we might even do that, not before. We didn't really have that kind of relationship."

"What do you mean?"

Hux looked out onto the dancefloor where Mitaka and Thanisson were glued together, in a world of their own. "We never had that." Kylo's eyes followed his, then they met back across the table. "We were never crazy about each other, madly in love. We fit well together, complemented each other, ours lives, our schedules. It was nice. But nothing 'for the ages'."

Kylo reached over and put a hand on his. "Is that what he left you for?"

Hux looked down at their hands, eyes a bit misty. "Perhaps? I can't tell if it was love or just something more exciting." He looked sheepishly at Kylo. "As you can imagine, I'm not all that exciting."

"Why would I think that?"

Hux shrugged. "I was happy with what we had. It was comfortable. But definitely not exciting."

"There's nothing wrong with comfortable. And there is such a thing as too much excitement in a relationship."

"Oh? Is that your experience? You seem as though you could live a fairly exciting existence."

Kylo pulled his hand back, gently, not abruptly. "I wouldn't say that. I don't mind cutting loose once in a while. But I like comfortable, too. My parents had a very exciting marriage. When it was great, it was amazing. But when it wasn't . . ." He looked knowingly at Hux. 

"Are they still together?"

"No. I think they both had enough excitement and got divorced a few years back."

"I'm sorry. That had to have been hard on you."

"It was easier than dealing with their hard times, believe me." He took a long drink then looked closely at Hux. "It seems like comfortable is safe, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Although, not so safe that I could keep Charles."

"Frankly, it sounds like you're better off without him. Look, do you want a chance to show him that?"

Hux had been toying with his glass. His fingers stopped and he looked suspiciously at Kylo. "How do you mean?"

Kylo leaned over the table and smiled viciously. "Have you been checking his social media?"

Hux sat back in his chair, affronted. "Just what are you implying? I wouldn't . . ."

"Hux."

He huffed. "All right. Yes. I've been torturing myself with pictures of the two of them 'so in love'." He made air quotes with his fingers. 

Kylo grinned. "Wanna bet he's doing the same with you?"

Waving him off Hux replied dismissively, "why on Earth would he do that? He left me for someone more exciting. I don't post clubbing selfies."

"But you could. Believe me, he's checking to make sure you haven't moved on too quickly, so he can be sure he's the only one doing the heart-breaking."

"But what am I going to post? Pictures of my empty drinks at an empty table? With the text 'having a fab time on my own'? How pathetic would that look?"

Kylo's grin was now feral. "You could post me. The two of us. Drinking together, dancing together. Having a great time together. Definitely Not thinking about Charles. It will drive him nuts."

Hux felt himself being taken hold of as he never had before. He didn't know if a sudden madness came over him, or if he was just buzzed enough to think Kylo's plan was actually a good one. 

But he opened his mouth and heard himself say "how would we go about doing this?"

"You've got Instagram, right?" Kylo held out his hand for Hux's phone. He was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. 

"Well, yes. But I usually reserve it for pictures of Millicent. My cat." He opened it and placed it in Kylo's large waiting hand. 

He opened Instagram. "Yeah, I see. She's cute. But Millie's gonna have to move over. Tonight's about you." He tapped the camera icon to put it in selfie mode. Holding it up he leaned towards Hux. "Time to get this party started!"

The first picture was of Kylo grinning big, and Hux looking not as certain. 

*** **

A few drinks later--Kylo had brought Hux the colorful fruity ones, he liked them better than he thought he would--and the next picture looked more relaxed. They were sitting on the same side of the table, Hux leaning into Kylo. 

Kylo looked it over, then posted it. Hux watched him, then said "thank you for doing this for me. I'm sure this isn't how you planned to spend your evening."

Kylo handed his phone back. "Are you kidding? I'm having a blast. I expected to sit and drink all evening while 'Thitaka' made out in a corner and Phasma tried to hook me up with weird guys at the bar." He elbowed Hux. "I thought you said you weren't any fun?"

"I didn't exactly say That."

"Besides, this is your revenge night. Are You having fun? It's no good if you just look like you are in the pictures. It's only truly satisfying if you really are."

Hux looked at Kylo. He looked expectantly back, even hopeful. A warm feeling crept into his stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol. "Yes. I actually am."

"Good. Should we hit the dancefloor next?"

"What? I meant it when I said that wasn't a good sign."

"A couple more drinks first then. Gotcha. Be right back."

*** **

The first few dancefloor pictures were more than a bit awkward. Hux was too far away from Kylo for it to look intimate. Then he was close enough but looked stiff. He wasn't smiling in any of them. 

"Don't worry. I won't post those." They had gone back to the table. 

"Sorry."

"Don't be, I get this is a bit weird for you. Are you afraid it will look like we're getting a little too friendly? Maybe like I'm gonna, you know, take you home?"

"Oh, um. I suppose. I hadn't really thought about making him that sort of jealous. Just like I was having a good time without him."

"That's cool. We can do that. Whatever you want." Kylo smiled so disarmingly that Hux didn't feel so badly. 

*** **

When he looked at the second try on the dancefloor, Hux barely recognized himself. He looked relaxed, comfortable as Kylo rested his chin on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around him to take the picture. "These certainly look convincing."

Kylo posted them. "Good. That's what we're after." He paused thoughtfully. "Have you ever gone home with a stranger before?"

"No, have you?"

"A couple of times, but not in a long while. They were literally just drunk hook-ups so it was incredibly awkward the next morning." He handed Hux the phone. "I don't mind being single, too much. I don't think I could be with someone I didn't love just to not be alone. But every once in a while it does get pretty lonely."

Hux squirmed in his seat. "Do you think that is what I was doing? Being with Charles even though I, apparently, didn't love him?"

"I don't know, Hux. Maybe? Or maybe you were willing to sacrifice love to have something to come home to every night. An empty apartment isn't much consolation after a hard day. I could have found someone. But I think I was afraid if I did that then I wouldn't be available if the right person came along. I couldn't have done what Charles did." He looked angry for Hux. 

He couldn't stop from putting a hand on Kylo's cheek. They both froze at the motion. Hux took his hand back with a blush, but he said "it's better that he left me, than stayed and resented me for keeping them apart."

Kylo ran a hand over his face. "Sorry. I get philosophical when I drink. Shut me up and dance with me." 

Hux, who had been feeling a little melancholy himself, laughed as he was pulled out of his chair. 

The next picture posted was of them cheek to cheek, both grinning. It didn't even show that they had their free hands clasped together. 

*** **

Kylo posted a picture of the table top filled with empty glasses. They didn't all belong to them but he didn't admit that. He added the text, "having a blast!" and posted the picture. 

Hux had been thinking while Kylo was working. "You know," Kylo glanced up at him. They were sitting side by side. "You could post another picture of the two us."

Kylo laughed. "I'm not posting anything, this is all you, remember?"

Hux smiled. "You could post a picture of you kissing me."

Kylo looked taken aback and for a moment Hux was afraid he had ruined it. Then Kylo said, "I'll only post a kissing picture if you want me to kiss you."

Hux waved his hand. "I don't care what Charles thinks I'm doing."

"That's not what I mean. I won't kiss you just for a picture."

"Oh, I see. Well, what if I just want you to kiss me?" He added almost shyly, "even without a picture."

Kylo gave him a small smile. "I'd like that. But are you ready for that? You've got a busted heart. And we just met."

Hux put his hand on Kylo's cheek and this time they both sighed. "I've felt more comfortable with you in the last few hours than I ever was with Charles. You've made me feel cared for, understood, protected. And you got nothing out of it. I'm not saying we should run off and get married, but I would like more of this. If you're interested."

Kylo put the phone on the table and circled his arms around Hux. "Yes, I'm very interested." He brushed his nose against Hux's, then kissed him gently. 

Hux pushed his fingers into Kylo's hair, kissing him back. Kylo's lips were sweet and gentle, and the slight push of his tongue was inquisitive. Hux forgot all about his phone until they both felt the buzz through the table. 

Not thinking, Kylo picked up the phone he had had in his hands all evening. He looked at the screen and grinned. 

"Have you ever accidentally liked any of the pictures when you were stalking Charles?"

"I wasn't exactly stalking . . . No, I was extremely careful, of course." He took the phone from Kylo and read the notifications. Then he opened the phone and clicked on it. A picture of Hux, alone, smiling and dancing came up. He looked at Kylo. "When did you post this?"

"I had to. You looked way too happy in it. And I was right, wasn't I." He tapped the bottom of the screen where it said "1 like". The name Charles Hevener popped up. 

They smiled at each other, conspiratorially. Kylo took the phone back and hit the camera icon again. "I think it's time we posted that kiss selfie." And he held up the camera.


End file.
